Originally prepared for two conferences co-sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in the spring of 1990, the eight papers in this collection focus on the concerns of policymakers and critical issues associated with the application of new telecommunications technologies for improving elementary and secondary education. Papers 1-5 were commissioned for the 1990 State Technology Leadership Conference, which was conducted by the Council of Chief State School Officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota: (1) "Technology and Students at Risk of School Failure" (David W. Hornbeck); (2) "Advanced Technologies Innovations and Applications for Distance Learning" (Suzanne G. Douglas and Louis Bransford); (3) "Policies for Educational Technology: A National, State, and Local Agenda" (Richard T. Hezel); (4) "Telecommunications and Restructuring: Supporting Change or Creating It" (Saul Rockman); and (5) "Using Technology To Support Professional Development for Teachers and Administrators" (Judson Hixson and Beau Fly Jones). Papers 6-8 resulted from a Workshop on Education and Telecommunications Technologies co-sponsored by the Annenberg School of Communications' Washington Program: (6) "The Mass Learnpike: Educational Telecommunications Comes to the Commonwealth" (Inabeth Miller); (7) "A Depiction of Distance Education" (Donald C. Holznagel); and (8) "Telecommunications: The Critical Resource for Achieving National Educational Goals" (Arthur D. Sheekey and Suzanne G. Douglas). A list of participants for the Annenberg/OERI workshop is included. (DB)